The concept of performance has changed, says human resources manager Christiane Wald. She feels this not only in job interviews, but also in ice figure sports, for which she volunteers as a judge.
The economy is stagnating. Politicians and entrepreneurs criticize that it is also to blame that Germany is abandoning the idea of performance. Is that correct? How do people in the country think about this? And what do we actually mean by performance? t-online explores these questions in a series, letting well-known and unknown people have their say. In this episode:
Christiane Wald, 53, human resources manager from Wiesbaden:
“It has become much more difficult to find new employees who will then stay with the company long-term. I experience again and again that even after someone has signed a contract, he or she cancels it at short notice. There are different reasons for this: On the one hand Applicants can supposedly allow themselves to behave like this because there are no longer enough of them. On the other hand, something has also changed in the concept of performance.
When I was growing up, there was a lot more competition than there is today. Back then, there were an incredible number of applicants for a training position, and performance was often crucial – both in terms of school grades and the so-called primary virtues such as hard work, reliability, discipline, and punctuality. As a child I did competitive sports, like figure skating, and without these virtues it wouldn’t work anyway.
Responsible for 280 employees: Christiane Wald is head of human resources at the housing company dii Deutsche Invest Immobilien AG. (Source: dii Deutsche Invest Immobilien AG)
To person
Christiane Wald is Head of Human Resources at the housing company dii Deutsche Invest Immobilien AG in Wiesbaden and is responsible for around 280 employees there. She has been working in human resources for more than 20 years and has also worked internationally in various industries and companies. In her free time, the graduate in business administration volunteers as an international figure skating judge.
If I compare that with young people today, I also had completely different opportunities to concentrate on something. Our “social media” was television – over. Today, with different media, things are different for young people. This is not meant to be judgmental, because it means they have different abilities, understand things more quickly and make more connections.
Both as a volunteer figure skating judge and in my job as a human resources manager, I notice that these primary virtues still exist. But they are less trained. Let’s take the example of punctuality: If you make it clear to young people that punctuality has something to do with valuing the time of their colleagues, they will also be punctual.
HR managers are looking for applicants
Human resources managers nationwide are feeling that it is becoming more difficult to find and retain employees. This is also shown by the most extensive survey on this subject: the current Hays report will be dedicated to the topic in 2023 Employee retention. Of the 1,000 decision-makers in human resources management surveyed, good things ranked at the top work atmosphere (82 percent) to retain employees. In second place is a market and performance-oriented one Remuneration (70 percent), followed by measures to address career and Private life (52 percent) to agree with each other.
Today the young people are thinking carefully about what they are doing. They are more selective and usually do it for something that suits them and that they can identify with. This makes it much more challenging for HR managers, for managers, but also for trainers in sports. Many people have often not yet understood this change and do not see that they need to respond more to young people. Especially since many companies are currently under a lot of pressure and don’t have enough time for it. But it’s worth it.
The strong desire for part-time and shorter working hours is a major challenge for companies
Christiane Wald
Just as, of course, performance continues to be worthwhile. Young people know this and are definitely willing to perform, in the sense of: I achieve something I set out to do and contribute to a project, product or idea. However, work is no longer above all else for her. But I think that’s healthy. We older people also notice that this doesn’t work in the long run. I still work a lot, but with a different awareness and a different focus than I did ten or fifteen years ago. Work and career must be in balance.
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The strong desire of many young people for part-time and shorter working hours is certainly a major challenge for companies and for society. They are often young people who have experienced hardly any restrictions from home and are convinced that a part-time job is financially sufficient for them. This may now change due to the economic crisis and inflation. Whether the money is actually enough for a part-time job remains to be seen in the future.”
